ROLLA, Mo. – The Miners took two wins today, defeating the Peacocks 7-2 and 3-2.
Ethan Morrow (Lenexa, KS/Shawnee Mission West) went the distance in game one, pitching all seven innings with 10 strikeouts and just 1 earned run. Game two was a thriller, with the Miners winning in a walk off thanks to
Nick Krodinger's (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) single in the bottom the seventh.
Game 1: Miners 8, Peacocks 2
Morrow struggling the opening inning, giving up three singles and one earned run to the first four batters. After an error by the Miners' infield allowed one more run to score, Morrow closed out the inning with two strikeouts, getting all three outs of the inning with Ks. A groundout and a fly threatened to make the Miners first inning a quick one. The Peacocks would not close out the inning well though, giving up two walks and balking to set up a two RBI single by
Matt Souza (Escondido, CA/Christian) as S&T tied the game at 2-all.
A brief second inning at bat for the Peacocks put the Miners back at the plate, getting a couple of free bases before a double by
Jack Bell (Andover, KS/Andover Central) brought home another run to give the Miners the lead. A groundout by
Sam Monroe (Moline, Ill./Moline) would bring home the second run of the inning and put two outs on the board. Two batters later, with runners on first and third, the Peacocks caught Sugi between the bases for the third out of the inning but not before Bell stole home to put the Miners up 5-2.
Morrow grabbed another two strikeouts in the top of the third, bringing his total to five at that point in the game. An error by UIU's second baseman in the bottom of the third would lead to
Tyler Prince (Mexico, MO/Mexico) scoring a run off
Carter Bither's (Springfield, MO/Springfield Catholic) double to extend the Miners' lead to 6-2. Morrow would give up two singles and have a wild pitch in the top of the next inning, but prevent any runs from scoring as he got another three strikeouts, giving up eight in four innings.
The next two half innings were relatively uneventful, apart from Morrow getting a ninth strikeout in the top of the fifth. The bottom of the fifth would bring in the final runs of the game, with singles by Prince,
Tommy Ruether (Washington, MO/Washington), and
Logan Alexander (Olathe, KS/Olathe Northwest) helping the Miners score another two runs. Morrow would only allow one hit and grab one more strikeout in the next two innings to close out the game in an 8-2 S&T win.
Game 2: Miners 3, Peacocks 2
Estin McBroom (Monett, MO/Monett) was the starting pitcher for game two, retiring the first six batters he faced, two of which were strikeouts. A pair of walks and a wild pitch set the Miners up with runners on second and third in the bottom of the first with two outs, but a groundout would leave both stranded. S&T would grab the first run of the game in the bottom of the second after Bither reached on an unearned error and made it home after back-to-back singles by
Keaton Scott (Hannibal, MO/Hannibal) and
Drew Baugus (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood).
Upper Iowa would tie the game at 1-1 in the next inning though, with runners on second and third setting up an RBI on a groundout to second base. S&T recorded two hits in the bottom of the third, but were unable to score any runs. The Peacocks had two hits of their own next inning, but they were able to bring one of their baserunners home to take a 2-1 lead. The score would remain 2-1 for the next two innings, with the Miners struggling to get runners on base.
Jacob Cook (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka Community) would take over pitching in the top of the sixth. He would record two strikeouts while allowing zero hits in his 1.1 innings, taking the game to a decisive bottom of the seventh inning with the Miners trailing 2-1.
After the Miners started off the seventh with two singles in a row, the Peacocks relieved their starting pitcher. Three at bats later, the Miners had bases loaded with one out. A fly out to center field by Sugi would bring home the tying run. The Peacocks intentionally walked Prince, loading the bases and bringing DH
Nick Krodinger (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) up to bat. Going behind 0-2 after two swinging strikes, Krodinger kept the at bat alive by fouling off three of the next four, bringing the count to 1-2. Back-to-back balls by the Peacocks pitcher made it a full count, before a single by Krodinger to left center brought the winning run home for a 3-2 walkoff win for the Miners.
Despite the walk off hit by Krodinger, pitching and defense was the story of the day, as the Miners only gave up four runs all day and had a total of 14 strikeouts.
The last game of the series versus Upper Iowa is tomorrow at 1 p.m.
